Day Two #TCEA13 - Part 1

Day Two of TCEA did not disappoint!  In fact, when I started composing this post, I realized just one session I attended was more than enough information to throw at all of you in one post!  So, I am breaking up Day Two (and maybe even day 3 because today is BLOWING MY MIND!) into several chunks so as not to totally overwhelm you (and me!).

I started my second day with Chad Jones and Chris Nilsson from Lamar Consolidated ISD.  These guys were not only incredibly engaging, they know their stuff.  Their session, Staff Development that Works, opened my eyes to several things...

• Good staff development does not have to be 1:1 or face-to-face.  There is a place for remote professional development as well as training videos and documents.
• Training materials MUST BE STANDARDIZED!  Same format, same font, same colors, same everything so the teachers always know what to expect.  (I needed that advice!)
• High quality is imperative.  Make it look and feel professional.
• Create a training space that welcomes learners and fosters creativity.

Chad and Chris started revolutionizing LCISD by transforming their physical training space.  They created a more collaborative layout and even added a coffee bar (they call if the iCafe!)  Then they developed a matrix to help determine what kinds of information needed to be delivered face-to-face or 1:1 and what could be done with videos and documents.  Then they went to work!  Check out these Google training documents they created.  They even put in a professional studio to record high-quality training videos.  (Not realistic in my world, but cool nonetheless!)  The results of their efforts were astonishing.  They tallied up all of the voluntary hours their 1700 teachers spent attending professional development the prior year and came up with 3200 hours.  After their initiative, that number jumped to 34,000!  I think that truly is staff development that works!

Check back tomorrow for more of my day two excitement!  :)